This I'm afraid is what passes for John Innes No3 these days from Westland...a brown, fibrous, sludgy mess of a concoction. The rich dark loamy days are well and truly over by the looks of it...still it should please the environmentalists.
I was forced to buy the Westland No2 this year due to local shortages. It's pretty terrible but I think that's a reflection on the brand rather than JI mixes in general. As you say, lots of fibrous material, straw and sticks. The worst JI I've ever seen and I've tried a few brands. Still if you're just going to chuck it all over the floor then does it matter anyway?
I'm glad it's not just me who finds Westlands JI compost a bit troublesome this year. It looks okay but turns rock hard very quickly. I think it might make very good bricks.
Ah, but have you looked at Westland's topsoil lately. The fibrous content has even crept into that. Proper topsoil it ain't. And it's not easy to try other products either because Westland seems to be the only choice, certainly in the the local DIY outlets, supermarkets and garden centres in my area anyway.
I can't claim to have a wide knowledge of the options. I buy Melcourt stuff from my local independent GC, but then I do try to be peat free. I haven't had a problem with their stuff. Others who are less peat concerned would argue it's expensive (true) and not as good as peat based (probably also true) but that's a choice I have made. The local GC also sell Violet Farm compost which isn't peat free and which looks fine to me in the samples - certainly better than Pete's picture, but I don't buy it so can't comment on the variability.
There are loads of online suppliers. Maybe buy some small bags of different ones and come to your own decision about what works for your gardening?
“It's still magic even if you know how it's done.”
@cvh...it's pretty obvious which brand I wouldn't recommend...as for the others it's difficult for me to say, because I haven't had the opportunity to try others because of Westland's near monopoly of outlets in my area, making it impossible to buy other brands.
..it's too early for me to say how good this product is... it cost enough.. .. the texture is superb.. I'd like to think it's probably at least as good if not better than current JI3 products out there..
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If you are buying from the major chains anyway, why don't you buy it online instead and get a better brand?
There are loads of online suppliers. Maybe buy some small bags of different ones and come to your own decision about what works for your gardening?
.. the texture is superb.. I'd like to think it's probably at least as good if not better than current JI3 products out there..